MANCHESTER United have agreed a payment deal to recover the é12 million they are owed from the sale of Jaap Stam to Lazio in August 2001.

United told the London Stock Exchange that they had reached a érevised settlement agreementé with the Serie A side.

The deal effectively means that the Italian League will bail out the cash strapped Roman side by paying off the remaining balance of the sale.

"SS Lazio has assigned 20.4 million Euro (é13.3m), which includes recompense for delay in receipt of these proceeds to Manchester United with payments commencing in September 2004 and finishing in April 2005," the statement read.

Under domestic Italian transfer regulations these amounts are payable by the Lega Nazionale Professionisti (Italian League) and in accordance with Italian League rules are backed by bank guarantees or insurance policies."

Having been paid just é4 million of the fee, United started legal proceedings last month in an attempt to get their money back.

However there had seemed little prospect of Lazio being able to raise the money as they have been hit particularly hard by Italian footballés cash crisis, have been put up for sale and their players have gone unpaid since July.